Meet the guerrilla gardeners improving their local area one flowerbed at a time.
They are a collection of individuals that share the belief that their town deserves to be looked after and has powerful heritage that should be celebrated.
The community gardeners - from Dalkieth, in Midlothian - don’t have any qualms about rolling up their sleeves and all but banishing the unruly weeds, litter and vandalism that previously blighted the area.
They formed in 2019 after Dalkieth local Denise McKenzie began to see her beloved Dalkeith town centre look uncared for - blaming stretched local authority budgets and declining resources.
Since then, the small cluster of motivated, like-minded individuals has grown to a team of up to 30 guerrillas and a facebook group approaching 1,000 members.
It seems that once people got wind of the positive impact of their work, interest and offers of support started to snowball.
Now, the efforts of the group have been recognised with an award from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society for their contribution to horticulture and gardening in Scotland.
But keen member Sharon Mackintosh explained that while the recognition is welcome, the group’s main focus is on making a difference to the landscape of Dalkeith.
“Whilst we don't guerrilla garden for awards or recognition we are all extremely proud of the fact that our efforts in improving the appearance and care of Dalkeith Historic Town and Woodburn have been recognised”, she said.
“Dalkeith is a place we all care passionately and we all have a collective responsibility for the environment around us.
“We are thrilled to be making our town a beautiful place to live.”
During lockdown, the group was resigned to splitting up for solo litter-picks on their government-mandated daily physical exercise - but slowly began to meet up once again in pairs or smaller groups when it was permitted.
And the movement is continuing to grow, with people in the community coming together “of all ages and ability”.
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“All we ask is that people bring along gardening gloves and lots of enthusiasm”, explained Sharon, who is out most weekends to lend a hand.
What the award-winning group has discovered is that by getting their neighbours involved, or asking local community groups or businesses for their support, it’s not only a great way to improve their surroundings - but also to meet new people and bridge divides within the community.
Working alongside fellow local groups, the Guerrilla Gardeners have several more ideas on how to brighten up Dalkeith - starting with a collection of murals popping up across town.
One of the displays, harking back to market days of old when cattle and other goods would be driven into the town, features six highland cows “keeking o’re a Dyke”, and was created by Dalkeith Arts vice chair Margaret Bititci.
“The process has been true community activism that has led to the formation of many other small groups across the local authority”, Sharon added.
“The difference in the town centre and in Woodburn is noticeable and has drawn hundreds of positive comments from members of the community.”
It comes as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is set to celebrate community gardening across the UK through this year’s RHS Community Awards.
New virtual awards replace the RHS Britain in Boom UK Finals competition for 2021 – for the first time in the campaign’s 57-year history - and will see Britain in Bloom groups recognised for their efforts to transform their local areas.
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A total of 63 groups will participate across five categories having been nominated by one of the 16 Britain in Bloom UK regions and nations.
Five will represent Scotland - Aberdeen Communities Together, Dunbar in Bloom, The People’s Project in Dumfries, Brighten up Kirkconnel and North Berwick in Bloom.
Groups will submit evidence digitally in up to three award categories to a panel of Bloom and RHS horticultural, wildlife and environmental experts.
The categories, which include ‘Planting with Purpose’ and ‘Cultivating your Community’ are designed to recognise the accomplishments of those bringing people together by involving a wide cross-section of the community and addressing specific challenges such as transforming a neglected area or reducing antisocial behaviour.
Other categories include Nature-friendly Gardening (Creating habitats and using wildlife-friendly gardening practices) and Green Solutions (Tackling environmental challenges such as climate change, air pollution and flooding.
Kay Clark, RHS Community Development Manager said: “We’ve been truly inspired by the creativity and ingenuity that volunteers have shown throughout the pandemic, supporting their communities while observing the social distancing rules.
“While we’re not able to run the Britain in Bloom UK Finals competition this year, the RHS Community Awards will shine a light on groups’ fantastic efforts during a challenging time.”
Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful said, “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to put forward five of our Beautiful Scotland groups into the 2021 UK RHS Community Awards this year. I’d like to congratulate the groups and wish them luck in these difficult and challenging times.
“Never before have good quality, clean and green spaces been so important to our economy and our own personal health and wellbeing. The groups with their hard-working volunteers, make our neighbourhoods, our cities, towns and villages, indeed our country so much better for the efforts they put in, and they all go that extra mile to pull their communities together through horticulture, looking after the environment and, of course, having fun along the way.”
The results of the RHS Community Awards, including the most outstanding entries in each category, will be announced at the end of September with all participants receiving certificates.
For more information about RHS Britain in Bloom and to search for community gardening groups in your area please visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/communities/find-a-group-search-form.
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